He may be living the high life in central London - but Failsworth-born comic Josh Jones is itching to move back to to where it all began.
You may have seen his face on TV screens, having recently appeared on the likes of The Jonathan Ross Show, 8 out of 10 Cats and Celebibility. None of this has been sudden he says, but rather eight years in the making.
Openly gay comedian Josh, 30, who only decided to give stand-up a go as a punt when studying at Salford University, is now relishing his hard-earned success and gearing up to embark on a huge UK tour where audiences can expect, in his own words, 'a daft Manc kn****** having a laugh'.
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His 'gutter mouth' and 'crude' jokes about gay sex may have frightened off a load of middle-aged blokes in working men's clubs when he cut his teeth years ago - but the tough crowds certainly taught him the ropes.
It was never a future he had imagined for himself, but a few amateur stand-up shows while studying and some advice from a guest lecturer soon changed his mind.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, he said: "A load of my mates were doing stand up and I was the last to do it. No-one has ever taken me seriously.
"I remember it was really nerve-racking and being dead nervous when you first start out. You do gong shows, like the one at the Frog and Bucket, where you've got five minutes, but the audience have cards and if they don't like you, you get 'frogged off' and that's quite brutal, really.
"I did a gig for farmers in Yorkshire and as soon as I walked on, this old bloke said 'not for me' and picked up his chair and turned around. All I'd said was 'hello'.
"I started in working men's clubs and rugby clubs and stuff, it was a load of old blokes and it used to be dead funny because they were like, 'I don't really like gay guys, but you made me laugh.'"
Working on the northern comedy circuit, Josh started out performing in Manchester city centre as well as smaller venues across the north west with older crowds, something he likened to gigging 'with your parents' mates'.
But he quickly learned that the key to his success was talking about things that make him laugh. Since being a young child, he had been taunted and teased for the sound of his voice - but he now uses it to his advantage.
"Not even the fact that I'm gay, but the fact that I sound so gay, I've had this all my life," he says. "People have been taking the p*** out of me for the way I speak literally for all my life. If I do TV you get people being like 'oh he's putting that voice on', but I'm not. This is just the way I speak.
"It makes you quite happy with yourself because you know some people are just going to be mean, and I just write them off as stupid and carry on about my day."
Despite 19k followers on Instagram and a number of recent TV appearances under his belt, including on BBC Three’s Fast Food Face-Off 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, his breakthrough has been a long time coming. In eight years, Josh admits, he never spent more than five days away from stand-up, even hosting regular Zoom gigs in lockdown.
He also confessed that when he makes TV appearances, where he is treated 'like Madonna', he is always the guest who is given strict warnings to watch his language, due to his 'gutter mouth'.
"I always think when I do a TV show and there's a load of comics, I get told to watch what I'm saying. But I can't help it - I have got a gutter mouth, it just flows out of me.
"I did a daytime TV show, a breakfast show, the other week, and the amount of warnings I got of what not to say, I was tempted to just drop us a swear word. I wouldn't, but it's tempting. I love doing telly as well because they pick you up in a car and you feel like Madonna."
Josh' new autumn tour, 'Gobsmacked', will take place on various dates in September, October and November. Although he may be biased, he says his favourite audiences are right here in Manchester and, after two years in London, is 'sick of it' and hoping to move back up north.
"We always say it, that people are friendlier up north, but bloody hell, you do feel it. I'll walk into a shop and be like, 'hi, are you okay?' and they will look like I have just slapped their mum. It's crazy," he says.
Explaining what people can expect from his Gobsmacked tour, he said: "Because I started on the northern circuit, you have to have a lot of punchlines, so it's quite gag heavy. There's always a line or something around the corner that will make you laugh.
"The show is just me being a daft Manc kn*****d having a laugh. It's fun, high energy, can be a little bit dirty at times and is mainly loads of silly stories about me life, and I don't take meself seriously at all.
"I have had to start from scratch with a whole new show. I have a lot of different techniques (for writing material). I feel like one of them is really embarrassing, where I have a microphone in my bedroom and I talk to myself.
"I try a bit of everything. I love a long walk and then I'll put my headphones in and I'll pretend I'm on the phone, but I'm actually just speaking to myself and thinking of new jokes.
"I've always been that mad, weird friend. Growing up, everyone was always like, 'he's off his t**s, so luckily I've got quite a bit of material of me just being an idiot from stuff that's happened in my life.
"So if you're a fun person, and you've not got a stick up your a**, then it's probably for you."
Josh will be coming to the Frog and Bucket in Manchester on September 27. Tickets are available here.
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